Thermal conducting trench in a semiconductor structure

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a trench filled with a thermally conducting material in a semiconductor substrate. In one embodiment, the semiconductor device has a trench defining a cell region, wherein a portion of the trench includes a thermally conducting material, and a contact to the thermally conducting material. The invention further relates to a semiconductor device and a method of forming a semiconductor device with an interlayer dielectric that is a thermally conducting material.

RELATED APPLICATION

The application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication, application Ser. No. 10/632,578, filed Jul. 31, 2003 byapplicants, Chunlin Liang and Brian S. Doyle, entitled “ThermalConducting Trench in a Semiconductor Structure and Method for Formingthe Same”, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/791,054,filed Feb. 21, 2001, by applicants, Chunlin Liang and Brian S. Doyle,entitled “A Thermal Conducting Trench in a Semiconductor Structure andMethod for Forming the Same;” which is a divisional application ofco-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/829,860, filed on Mar.31, 1997, by applicants, Chunlin Liang and Brian S. Doyle, entitled “AThermal Conducting Trench in a Semiconductor Structure and Method forForming the Same.”

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor devicesand, more particularly, to dissipating heat generated by the operationof such devices.

2. Description of Related Art

One goal of complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS) in verylarge scale integration (VLSI) and ultra large scale integration (ULSI)is to increase chip density and operation speed. However, with increasedchip density and operation speed, CMOS power consumption is alsoincreased dramatically. It is expected that the power consumption of ahigh performance microprocessor will increase from several wattscurrently to approximately several hundred watts in the near future. Theheat generated from this power consumption will raise chip temperaturedramatically and degrade circuit performance and reliability. Therefore,reducing chip operation temperature is of great importance for currentas well as future VLSI and ULSI technology.

To date, reduction of chip temperature is accomplished in two ways: 1)Lowering the power consumption, and 2) improving heat dissipation to theambient environment. The first method is the preferred approach. Alowering of the power consumption is usually accomplished by scalingdown the power supply voltage. The power consumption of integratedcircuit chips has decreased from 5.0 volts several years ago to today'sapproximately 1.5 volts. However, lowering of the power supply voltagemay impact negatively on the performance of the device. Because of thenon-scalability of the build-in voltage of a silicon junction, there islittle room for further reduction of the power supply voltage below 1.0volts if traditional technology is used. Thus, for high performance VLSIand ULSI circuits, further lowering of the power supply voltage may notbe the most effective approach.

As indicated previously, the second approach to the reduction of chiptemperature is through improved heat dissipation to the ambientenvironment. The heat dissipates mainly through the silicon substrateinto a metal heat sink inside the package and through a metalinterconnect system. This approach typically employs a heat sink/groundplan in physical contact with the silicon substrate. Some moderntechnologies, however, have eliminated the heat sink/ground plan inphysical contact with the silicon substrate. One example is flip-chiptechnology wherein the chip is inverted so that the interconnect systemlies on the underside of the chip rather than on the exposed topsurface. These technologies encapsulate the silicon chip inside apackage with epoxy material thus eliminating the contact between thesilicon substrate and a heat sink. Instead, the metal interconnectsystem becomes the dominant heat dissipation path.

Heat dissipation through the interconnect system may be improved byincreasing the total physical contact area to a heat source. A largeeffective physical contact area will reduce the thermal resistivityproportionally. In a typical chip design, the primary effective thermalcontact to the transistor is provided by the diffusion or source/draincontact. The total source and drain physical contact area is, however,limited to a small percentage of the total chip size because otherstructures, such as an active channel, isolation, metal interconnect,and separation space, consume a much larger area of a given chip. Thus,the current design of the thermal contact area to the transistor (i.e.,the area available to effectively dissipate heat generated by thetransistor) is insufficient to dissipate the heat generated by the powerconsumption anticipated for future CMOS technology.

SUMMARY

A method of forming a trench filled with a thermally conducting materialin a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. In one embodiment, the methodincludes filling a portion of the trench with a thermally conductingmaterial and patterning a contact to the thermally conducting material.A semiconductor device is also disclosed. In one embodiment, thesemiconductor device has a trench defining a cell region, wherein aportion of the trench includes a thermally conducting material, and acontact to the thermally conducting material. A semiconductor device anda method of forming a semiconductor device with an interlayer dielectricthat is a thermally conducting material is further disclosed.

Additional features and benefits of the invention will become apparentfrom the detailed description, figures, and claims set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a semiconductor substrateshowing a masking layer overlying the substrate and a trench formed inthe substrate for an embodiment of an integrated circuit structurehaving a trench filled with a thermally conducting material in thesemiconductor substrate in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing a dielectric material passivating the sidewalls of thetrench and overlying the masking layer for an embodiment of anintegrated circuit structure having a trench filled with a thermallyconducting material in the semiconductor substrate in accordance withthe invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing a thermally conducting material overlying thepassivating dielectric layer and filled in the trench for an embodimentof an integrated circuit structure having a trench filled with athermally conducting material in the semiconductor substrate inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing the thermally conducting material filled in the trenchand removed from the surface of the substrate by using the masking layeras an etch stop for an embodiment of an integrated circuit structurehaving a trench filled with a thermally conducting material in thesemiconductor substrate in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing the masking layer removed for an embodiment of anintegrated circuit structure having a trench filled with a thermallyconducting material in the semiconductor substrate in accordance withthe invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing a transistor structure formed adjacent to the trenchand conductive interconnections to the transistor and the trench for anembodiment of an integrated circuit structure having a trench filledwith a thermally conducting material in the semiconductor substrate inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing six transistor devices and thermally conductingdielectric material filled trench/trench isolation for an embodiment ofan integrated circuit structure having a trench filled with a thermallyconducting material in the semiconductor substrate in accordance withthe invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing power (e.g., V_(CC) and V_(SS)) bus metal lines alsoused as the thermal connection to the thermally conducting material inthe trench for an embodiment of an integrated circuit structure having atrench filled with a thermally conducting material in the semiconductorsubstrate in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing the regular electrical metal interconnections used asthermal connections to the thermally conducting material in the trenchfor an embodiment of an integrated circuit structure having a trenchfilled with a thermally conducting material in the semiconductorsubstrate in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing dielectric sidewall spacers formed between opposingmetal interconnect lines for an embodiment of the invention of anintegrated circuit structure having an interlayer thermally conductingdielectric material in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing a layer of thermally conducting dielectric materialdeposited over a first level metal interconnect system for an embodimentof the invention of an integrated circuit structure having an interlayerthermally conducting dielectric material in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing a planarized thermally conducting dielectric materialbetween opposing metal interconnect lines for an embodiment of theinvention of an integrated circuit structure having an interlayerthermally conducting dielectric material in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an interlayer dielectric deposited over the structureto passivate the metal line and the thermally conducting dielectricmaterial for an embodiment of the invention of an integrated circuitstructure having an interlayer thermally conducting dielectric materialin accordance with the invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an embodiment of the invention with a transistordevice adjacent to a trench filled with thermally conducting dielectricmaterial in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an embodiment of the invention wherein thermallyconducting dielectric material overlies the structure and metal contactsare established to the diffusion regions in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an embodiment of the invention wherein the interlayerdielectric layer is replaced with thermally conducting dielectricmaterial in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention include asemiconductor device and a method for forming a semiconductor devicehaving a trench with a portion of the trench filled with a thermallyconducting material defining a cell or active region. Embodiments inaccordance with the invention also include a semiconductor device and amethod for forming a semiconductor device having a trench with a portionof the trench filled with a thermally conducting materiel defining acell or active region and a contact to the thermally conductingmaterial. Embodiments in accordance with the invention further include asemiconductor device and a method for forming a semiconductor devicewith an interlayer dielectric that is a thermally conducting material.Embodiments of the device and process for making the device allow forimproved heat dissipation across a chip.

In one embodiment, a thermal conducting trench filled with a thermallyconducting material is embedded in the chip active layer very close tothe heating source, e.g., the transistor. The thermally conductingtrench may be constructed throughout the isolation region and mayprovide sufficient extra thermal contact area in addition to thosecontributed from electrical source/drain contacts, so that sufficientheat may be dissipated without adding extra space. Therefore, thethermal conducting channel filled in the active layer providesadditional thermal contact area and significantly relieves the thermalheating problem with little penalty on chip size or process complexity.In another embodiment, thermally conducting material is used as areplacement for part or all of the interlayer dielectric to improve theheat dissipation in higher level structures.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forthsuch as specific materials, thicknesses, processing steps, processparameters, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of theinvention. One skilled in the art will understand that these specificdetails need not be employed to practice the invention.

FIGS. 1-6 illustrate schematically an embodiment of a method of forminga semiconductor structure in accordance with the invention. FIG. 1illustrates the formation of trenches 150 in silicon substrate 100. Thetrenches filled with a thermally conducting material are formed usingconventional trench isolation techniques. In this trench isolationprocess, a masking layer 110, such as for example, a silicon nitride(Si_(x)N_(y)) masking layer 110, is deposited over silicon substrate 100to protect substrate 100 from a subsequent etchant and to define atrench or trench pattern. Next, the structure is exposed to a suitableetchant to form trench 150 in the silicon substrate. The etching oftrench 150 may be carried out by a chlorine etch chemistry, such as forexample, BCl₃/Cl₂, H₂/Cl₂/SiCl₄, and CHCl₃/O₂/N₂, or other suitable etchchemistry as known in the art.

Trench 150 may be used to define an active region, for example isolatingn⁺ and p⁺ regions in CMOS circuits. The trench depth may vary, buttypically is approximately uniform across the semiconductor substrate100 and determined by the particular requirements of the structure. InCMOS technology, such trenches 150 typically range from a depth of 0.4μm to greater than 3 μm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a dielectric interface layer 120 is formedover the masking layer 110 and adjacent to the sidewalls and base of thetrench 150. Interface layer 120 may be deposited by conventionaltechniques, e.g., chemical vapor deposition of dielectric material, ormay be grown, e.g., thermal SiO₂. Interface layer 120 seals off theexposed silicon in the trench and passivates the trench. Interface layer120 serves as an interface between silicon substrate 100 and thethermally conducting material that will ultimately be filled in thetrench. Interface layer 120 serves to prevent any trench leakage betweendevices isolated by the trench 150.

In some embodiments, interface layer 120 thickness may be limited. Thethicker interface layer 120, the higher the thermal resistivity betweensilicon substrate 100 and material in the trench 150. The thermalresistivity of trench 150 is increased by a thicker interface layer 120,because the heat that is given off by an adjacent device, for example,is impeded from traveling to the thermally conducting material byinterface layer 120. An interface layer 120 of SiO₂, for example, of 300Å or less may be appropriate to impart the desirable properties of aninterface and suitable thermal resistivity. It is to be appreciated,however, that various dielectric materials of various thicknesses may beused as an interface layer 120. Further, if channel leakage is not aconcern, the interface layer 120 may be eliminated.

After interface layer 120 is formed in trench 150, FIG. 3 illustrated athermal conducting layer 130 deposited over the substrate and intotrench 150. The layer 130 should also be electrically insulating.Thermally conductive material is material that transfers heat from onepoint to another. In this context, a thermally conductive material is amaterial that transfers or conducts heat and may be distinguished, forexample, by those materials that primarily insulate, like conventionalsemiconductor dielectrics such as SiO₂ or Si_(x)N_(y). High thermalconductivity is a thermal conductivity greater than 0.2 W/cmK. Ofcourse, the invention is not limited to utilizing materials that havehigh thermal conductivity. Thermally conductive materials suitable foruse in the invention include, but are not limited to, AlN, BN, SiC,polysilicon, and chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond. Table Icompares the thermal conductivities of ordinary dielectrics of SiO₂ andSi_(x)N_(y) with these thermally conducting materials and copper metal.TABLE I Thermal Conductivity (W/cm K): SiO₂ Si₃N₄ SiC Poly Si A1N BNDiamond Cu 0.014 0.185 0.38 1.412 1.8-3.2 3.5-4.5 12-23 2.0-5.0

As shown in FIG. 4, a chemical-mechanical polishing step, suitable forthermally conducting material 130, is next used to polish away thermallyconducting material 130 from the substrate surface leaving thermallyconducting material 130 only in trench region 150. The chemicalmechanical polish is accomplished using the dielectric layer (e.g.,Si_(x)N_(y)) 110 as an etch stop. In other words, both thermallyconducting material 130 and interface layer 120 are removed from theupper surface of the substrate 100 but remain in trench 150. Though theremoval of thermally conducting material 130 from the surface of thesubstrate is described herein as a chemical-mechanical polishing step,it is to be appreciated that excess thermally conducting material 130may be removed by way of other techniques, such as for example,conventional etching techniques.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the dielectric/etch stop layer 110 is removedfrom the substrate surface using standard dry etching techniques. Forexample, a Si_(x)N_(y) etch stop layer is removed using, for example, aCHF₃/O₂ etch chemistry. The same etch stop layer may alternatively beremoved by wet etching, such as for example, by hot phosphoric acid.

With the thermally conducting trench formed, conventional fabricationprocesses may be used to formulate the integrated circuit structures onthe substrate. A schematic side view of a portion of an integratedcircuit structure is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, a transistor is formedin the cell or active region defined by trench 150 of substrate 100. Thetransistor consists of a gate 140 that is, for example, dopedpolysilicon, overlying a gate oxide 170 and adjacent to n⁺ or p⁺diffusion regions 160 in substrate 100 that is of the opposite dopant ofdiffusion regions 160. Adjacent gate 140 are sidewall dielectric spacers180. Sidewall spacers 180 may comprise virtually any dielectric,including a single oxide or silicon nitride (Si_(x)N_(y)) or severallayers formed by various methods. For example, one or more layers ofoxide may be deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition(“PECVD”), thermal CVD, atmospheric pressure CVD, and subatmosphericpressure CVD. An interlayer dielectric (ILD) material 195 is depositedand contact holes are formed to permit discrete metal contacts diffusionregions 160 and trenches 150. Finally, FIG. 6 shows contact 196 to gate140 and interlayer dielectric 195 and 200, respectively, isolating theelectrical/thermal interconnect systems.

As noted above, a metal interconnect 190, that is, for example,aluminum, is deposited to the diffusion regions 160 to form anelectrical interconnection between the diffusion regions of thetransistor and the integrated circuit. A similar conductiveinterconnection is patterned to the thermally conducting material 130 intrench 150. In one embodiment, interconnect 190 is patterned todiffusion region 160 and thermally conducting material 130. In otherwords, electrical interconnect system 190 may be used as a thermalinterconnect system for heat transfer purposes as well as electricalinterconnect purposes. The thermally conducting material 130 in thisembodiment should be electrically insulating to prevent shortingproblems. It should, however, be appreciated, that the thermalinterconnect system and the electrical interconnect system need not bethe same. Instead, separate or discrete interconnect systems may beestablished for electrical and thermal purposes. Further, in anembodiment utilizing thermal conducting material 130 having thermalconductivities greater than 1.8 W/cmK, no contact to thermallyconducting material 130 is necessary.

To form interconnect system 190 that is to be used as both an electricalinterconnect system and a thermal interconnect system, a masking layeris deposited over dielectric layer 195 exposing areas that will becomevias or openings to thermally conducting material 130 and diffusionregions 160. Next, the via or openings to thermally conducting material130 and diffusion regions 160 are formed by conventional etchingtechniques. For example, a tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) SiO₂dielectric layer 195 is anisotropically etched with a CHF₃/O₂ etchchemistry to form vias or openings to thermally conducting material 130and diffusion regions 160. Once the vias or openings are formed tothermally conducting material 130 and diffusion regions 160, the maskinglayer is removed and a metal, for example aluminum, is patternedconcurrently to both thermally conducting material 130 and diffusionregions 160.

The introduction of a trench filled with thermally conducting materialsignificantly improves the thermal dissipation of the chip with little,if any, negative impact on performance in process. Thus, heat generated,for example, by a transistor device may be transferred to the thermallyconducting material and then transferred away from the individualdevice, by transfer through the thermally conductive material itself or,in the embodiment where there is a contact to the thermally conductivematerial, through the contact, and, optionally, through a heat sinkconnected to the interconnect system.

It is generally accepted, for example, that dielectric materials withhigh thermal conductivity, such as would be suitable for use in theinvention, generally will have a high dielectric constant which willtend to increase the inter-metal capacitance and slow down a device.Because the thermally conducting material is embedded in thesemiconductor substrate there is little or no negative effect on thecircuit speed. Further, once the trench with the thermally conductingmaterial is in place, the modifications to the conventionalsemiconductor processing steps are not significant, notably thepatterning of a metal contact to the trench. However, since theelectrical metal interconnect system can be used also as the thermalinterconnect system as shown in FIG. 6, the process steps of patterningthe metal to the trench are not significant. Further, since the optionalinterface dielectric layer along the sidewalls of the trench is as thinas 300 Å or less, thermal conduction between the active transistor andthe thermally conducting material 130 is achieved.

FIG. 7 is a schematic top view illustrating an embodiment of anintegrated circuit structure with thermally conducting material filledtrench isolation. In FIG. 7, thermally conducting material 130 forms afilled thermal conduction network across chip 250. FIG. 7 shows sixtransistors 230 including a gate 140 with diffusion regions 160. Each ofthe six transistors 230 is isolated from one another by a trench filledwith a thermally conducting material 130. Metal interconnects 190 arepatterned to the diffusion regions. Electrical interconnections 190 arecoupled to bus lines 210 and 220, respectively (for example, V_(CC) andV_(SS) bus lines). A further electrical contact 196 is patterned to gate140 of each active transistor 230.

FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure wherein the electrical interconnect system is also used forheat transfer purposes. In FIG. 8, bus lines 210 and 220, respectfully,are patterned to the thermally conducting material 130. Patterning tothermally conducting material 130 is illustrated by contacts 215 on thebus lines. In this manner, the heat conducted from the transistor 230 tothe thermally conducting material 130 can be dissipated through themetal interconnect system to, for example, an external heat sink (notshown). Since thermally conducting material 130 is thermal conductingand electrically insulating, the same electrical interconnect system canbe used for heat transfer purposes. The structure shown in FIG. 9includes contacts 215 to the bus lines as well as contacts 217 to othermetal interconnect of the circuit to further enhance the heatdissipation capacity of the circuit.

Compared with replacing all of the interlayer dielectric material withthermally conducting material, the approach of the previous embodimentsof the invention does not raise interconnect loading capacitancesignificantly. Further, these embodiments do not require dedicatedthermal interconnect systems or any additional chip density. Theseembodiments also provide more contact area between the metalinterconnect and the heating source, e.g., the active transistor.

FIGS. 10-14 are schematic side views of an embodiment of a process offorming further embodiments of the invention wherein thermallyconducting material replaces the interlayer dielectric material of thecircuit. Because the thermally conducting material will replaceinterlayer dielectric material, the thermally conducting material shouldalso be electrically insulating. The following described embodiments maybe used where a small increase in interconnect coupling capacitancecould be tolerated. It is to be noted that the process described hereinto create a structure with interlayer thermally conducting material mayor may not be used in conjunction with the thermally conductingsubstrate trenches described above.

The introduction of thermally conducting material between interconnectlines may be incorporated into the process described above with respectto FIGS. 1-6 and wherein the electrical interconnect 190 doubles as athermal interconnect. FIG. 10 shows that, after interconnect line 190patterning to diffusion regions 160 and thermally conducting material130, a dielectric layer, for example, a conformal oxide, is depositedand sidewall spacers formed by a conventional anisotropic etchingtechnique to form interface spacer portions 185 between adjacentelectrical interconnect structures 190. For example, SiO₂ spacerportions 185 of between 500-1,000 Å may be formed.

FIG. 11 shows that once interface spacer portions 185 are formed, athermally conducting material 260 is deposited over the structure in asimilar manner as was done with respect to FIG. 3, supra. Further, inthe case where interlayer thermally conducting material 260 is used inconnection with a substrate with thermally conducting material-filledtrenches, thermally conducting material 260 can be the same as thermallyconducting material 130 filled in substrate trenches.

The deposition of thermally conducting material 260 is followed by achemical-mechanical polish process to planarize the structure and polishthermally conducting material 260 back, using metal interconnect 190 forend point detection. An etching process may also be substituted for thechemical-mechanical polish process. In this manner, as shown in FIG. 12,thermally conducting material 260 remains in the region adjacentdistinct electrical interconnect lines 190 forming a thermallyconducting inter-metal trench 260 separated by dielectric sidewallspacer portions 185. A standard interlayer dielectric 270, for example aTEOS or PTEOS SiO₂, is then deposited over the structure as shown inFIG. 13. The same or similar process as described in FIGS. 10-13 may berepeated for higher level interconnects.

Where interconnect capacitance is of less concern, the interlayerdielectric may be completely replaced with thermally conductingdielectric material as shown in FIGS. 14-16 wherein thermally conductingmaterial 280 and 290 that is also electrically insulating is depositedadjacent electrical interconnect system 190. This structure may beachieved by substituting the deposition of dielectric material thatwould otherwise isolate the patterned metal lines with the thermallyconducting dielectric material described above with reference to otherembodiments of the invention. FIG. 14, shows a schematic side viewshowing a transistor formed in an active region of a substrate andtrenches filled with thermally conducting material 130 adjacent thetransistor device and a spacer layer 180 around the gate. As shown inFIG. 15, thermally conducting dielectric layer 290 overlies thestructure and metal interconnect lines 190 are patterned to diffusionregions 160. FIG. 15 also shows interconnect lines adjacent distinctelectrical interconnect lines 190 isolated from one another by sidewallspacers 185. Finally, in FIG. 16, a layer of thermally conductingmaterial 280 that is also electrically insulating overlies thestructure.

By introducing a trench filled with thermally conducting material, thethermal dissipation of the chip may be significantly improved withlittle, if any, negative impact on performance and process. By extendingthe use of the thermally conducting material to inter-metal space, theembodiments in accordance with the invention further improve both heatdissipation and temperature uniformity across the chip.

Due to the use of thermally conductive material in accordance with theinvention, thermal equilibrium across the chip can be achieved muchfaster than conventional structures to provide a temperaturedistribution across the chip that is more uniform. This results in amore reliable electromigration of the interconnect system. The thermallyconducting material utilized in accordance with the invention also helpsto dissipate heat from the transistor to the surface of the structure.

In the preceding detailed description, the invention is described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, tobe regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

1. A device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a trenchsurrounding a cell region, wherein a portion of the trench contains afirst thermally conducting material having a thermal conductivitygreater than a thermal conductivity of silicon dioxide; a thermallyconducting contact to the first thermally conducting material, whereinthe thermally conducting contact has a top surface and a plurality ofexposed side surfaces; a spacer portion of dielectric material adjacentto at least one of the exposed side portions.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein the first thermally conducting material has a thermalconductivity greater than 0.183 W/cmK.
 3. The device of claim 1, whereinthe thermally conducting material is a first thermally conductingmaterial, and wherein the thermally conducting contact comprises asecond thermally conducting material having a thermal conductivitygreater than a thermal conductivity of silicon dioxide.
 4. The device ofclaim 3, wherein the first thermally conducting material and the secondthermally conducting material are the same material.
 5. The device ofclaim 3, further comprising a third thermally conducting material overthe structure.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the first thermallyconducting material and the third thermally conducting material are thesame material.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the thermallyconducting contact is electrically insulating.
 8. The device of claim 1,wherein the first thermally conducting material is selected from thegroup consisting of AIN, BN, SiC, polysilicon, and CVD diamond.
 9. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the thermally conducting contact iselectrically conductive.
 10. The device of claim 1, further comprising atransistor structure in the cell region, the transistor structureincluding a gate on the substrate and diffusion regions in the substrateadjacent the gate.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the thermallyconducting contact is a first thermally conducting contact, and furthercomprising: a second thermally conducting contact to at least one of thegate and the diffusion regions to form an electrical interconnection.12. The device of claim 11, wherein the first thermally conductingcontact and the second thermally conducting contact are the samematerial.
 13. The device of claim 11, wherein the first thermallyconducting contact is integrated with the second thermally conductingcontact.
 14. The device of claim 11, wherein the second thermallyconducting contact has a surface, and the second thermally conductingmaterial overlies the cell region adjacent to the surface of the secondthermally conducting contact.
 15. A device, comprising: a semiconductorsubstrate having a trench surrounding a cell region, wherein a portionof the trench contains thermally conducting electrically insulatingmaterial having a thermal conductivity greater than 0.185 W/cmK; athermally conducting contact to the thermally conducting electricallyinsulating material and overlying a portion of the thermally conductingelectrically insulating material; and a circuit device formed in thecell region.
 16. The device of claim 15, further comprising a layer ofdielectric material on the sidewalls of the trench.
 17. The device ofclaim 15, wherein the thermally conducting electrically insulatingmaterial is selected from the group consisting of AIN, BN, SiC,polysilicon, and CVD diamond.
 18. The device of claim 15, wherein thethermally conducting contact to the thermally conducting electricallyinsulating material is a first thermally conducting contact, the devicefurther comprising a transistor structure in the cell region, thetransistor structure including a gate on the substrate and diffusionregions in the substrate adjacent the gate, and a second thermallyconducting contact to at least one of the gate and the diffusion regionsto form an electrical interconnection.
 19. The device of claim 18,wherein the first thermally conducting contact is integrated with thesecond thermally conducting contact.
 20. The device of claim 18, whereinthe thermally conducting electrically insulating material is a firstthermally conducting electrically insulating material and the secondthermally conducting contact has a surface, the device furthercomprising a layer of a second thermally conducting electricallyinsulating material overlying the cell region adjacent to the surface ofthe second thermally conducting contact.